Monday, October 04, 2010

Remember the news last week about how militants had attacked and burned US convoy trucks? How the Pakistani government’s reaction was to then shut the route down? Here are the details:

SHIKARPUR, Pakistan (AP) - Suspected militants in southern Pakistan set ablaze more than two dozen tankers carrying fuel for foreign troops in Afghanistan on Friday, highlighting the vulnerability of the U.S.-led mission a day after Pakistan closed a major border crossing. The Pakistani government shut the Torkham border in the northwest in apparent protest at a NATO helicopter incursion that killed three of its soldiers on the border. The events raised tensions between Pakistan and the United States, which have a close but often troubled alliance in the fight against militants. Pakistan also lodged a formal protest with NATO on Friday.

My first reaction when I started hearing about this story was simply to not believe these al Qaeda could pull of such a stunt and that something else was going on. Looks like I got that right.

Moving trucked cargo in and out of Afghanistan is a big business in Pakistan, and a lot of money is involved. Normally, all the people who could interfere are bribed and the trucks roll unimpeded. But, from time to time there are squabbles over which tribe or warlord should get paid what to allow the trucks to pass. That’s when attacks on the trucks begin. Currently, the excuse is the deaths of three Pakistani troops last week.

Seems the Pakis are not happy with the fact they aren’t able to rip us off blind. Time to move support operations elsewhere, and also block some critical supplies, including any military aid, to them. And these people wonder why the Arab world is dysfunctional?